Winners of April 18 HBO Doubleheader Could Meet Next

By Jake Donovan

Whether by design or purely by coincidence, the junior welterweight division will be on full display this weekend. Terence Crawford returns to the weight after a Fighter of the Year campaign that included his capturing the World lightweight crown, vying for a vacant title versus resurgent Thomas Dulorme.

Their bout takes place in Arlington, Texas, and will be packaged on HBO with a mouthwatering showdown between former titlists Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov, which headlines at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

Naturally, it serves in the best interest of HBO to showcase both fights on the same night, even if via a split-site feed. While there is no shortage of great matchups to be made in the 140 lb. division, any combination of the four fighters throwing down this weekend – particularly the winners of each bout – meeting in the future would certainly result in a win for the fans.

With that comes the question if, in fact, that is the plan beyond April 18.

“Both Provodnikov and Matthysse are excellent fighters. Certainly the winner of that fight will be considered against the winner, which we believe will be Crawford,” acknowledges Bob Arum, Crawford’s promoter.

The two fights feature four separate promoters involved – Top Rank (Crawford), Gary Shaw Productions (Dulorme), Golden Boy Promotions (Matthysse) and Banner Promotions (Provodnikov). While all four companies are willing to work with each other – as evidenced by the recent past in addition to this upcoming weekend – mapping out a specific plan for the future is limited to speculation, at least until the final results are in.

“Whether the management of the fighter that wins is looking to fight the winner of this fight - that’s all to be decided,” notes Arum. “You sit down with the fighter’s management. From there, it will be decided if that’s the next fight.”

The headlining act in Texas marks Crawford’s first ring appearance following a stellar 2014 campaign. The unbeaten boxer from Omaha began the year with a title win, upending Ricky Burns on the road in Scotland, before coming up big in a pair of homecoming wins over Yuriorkis Gamboa and Ray Beltran to solidify his place atop the 135 lb. division.

The win over Beltran, however, was preceded by an epic struggle to shrink down to the lightweight limit. Even before the opening bell, Crawford (25-0, 17KOs) knew it would be his last at the weight, as he is now focused on taking on the best the 140 lb. division has to offer. The same mindset is clearly shared by Dulorme, Provodnikov and Matthysse, regardless of whether any combination of the four meet in the near future.

“Let’s just enjoy the fights on April 18,” insists Arum. “Saturday is going to be a great day for the junior welterweight division, and hopefully a great day for Terence Crawford.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox